Synthesis and Application of Inorganic Composite Nano Fibers using Electrospinning Process

Abstract

Recently, a great deal of attention has been focused on the development and application of fibers having nano-sized diameters. One of the most striking features of these nanofibers is their high specific surface area to mass ratio. This facilitates introduction of functional groups, ionization reaction, adsorption of particles, etc. to them, thereby enabling application in various fields. Among the manufacturing methods of nanofibers, the electrospinning process, which has been recognized as a practical technology, is very efficient. However, it is difficult to optimize the viscosity conditions that allow spinning for the electrospinning process for fiber manufacturing. Accordingly, there is a limit to the method of manufacturing fibers by mixing organic polymers and organic silanes, which have been previously used to produce organic silicon fibers, which are representative inorganic composite materials. To overcome these disadvantages, fibers using pure organic silane precursors were prepared for application to a wider range of fields, and organic/inorganic hybrid fibers were prepared by adding inorganic materials to impart various functionalities. As the inorganic material added in this experiment, titanium dioxide, which has been applied to various industries for improving harmful environments such as antibacterial and deodorizing, was used as a photocatalyst. Titanium dioxide particles, which are generally used as photocatalytic materials, have difficulties in recovering them in a solution. In addition, there is a problem in that photocatalytic efficiency is deteriorated by rapid recombination of electrons excited by light and generated holes. In order to overcome these points, silver (Ag) were added to a fibrous composite materials as a second inorganic component and the photolysis efficiency is improved by increasing the surface area exposed to the dye through additional surface etching. In conclusion, organic/inorganic composite nanofibers containing pure organic silane-based metal precursors were prepared through an electrospinning process and the possibility of manufacturing functional inorganic composite nanofibers with excellent thermal and physical stability was confirmed. The electrospinning process is expected to be used in various fields by preparing a solution more easily using a variety of metal compounds, ceramics, and etc., because of their relatively few limitations on precursor materials to be used.